


Pretty Pretty Thing

by YaBoyTwoHats



Series: All Of These Are The Prettiest Things [1]
Category: Bandom, I Don't Know How But They Found Me (Band), waterparks - Fandom
Genre: Concerts, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluffy, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Making Out, Neck Kissing, Tour Bus, Touring, catching feelings, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-30 04:24:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16757629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YaBoyTwoHats/pseuds/YaBoyTwoHats
Summary: Ryan was starting to notice a trend in Dallon’s lyrics. It was only one word but it was one he’d been using for over ten years, and Ryan couldn’t understand why. Pretty wasn’t an especially expressive word and there were so many words that meant the same thing and weren’t so blasé. Despite this, Dallon kept using it and put it on their record twice and it was something Ryan couldn’t put his finger on the reasoning for. What was so special about the word pretty?





	Pretty Pretty Thing

Ryan was starting to notice a trend in Dallon’s lyrics. It was only one word but it was one he’d been using for over ten years, and Ryan couldn’t understand why. Pretty wasn’t an especially expressive word and there were so many words that meant the same thing and weren’t so blasé. Despite this, Dallon kept using it and put it on their record twice and it was something Ryan couldn’t put his finger on the reasoning for. What was so special about the word pretty?

***

Because of Ryan finally recognizing Dallon’s repeated usage of the word pretty, he ended up paying a bit more attention to Dallon when he spoke. Over the course of a few weeks, Ryan found Dallon saying the word pretty over and over again.

“That’s quite a pretty flower,” Dallon told him, pointing out a rose that had been thrown on stage for him. Ryan agreed, poking the red petal lightly with his thumb. It was a really pretty flower.

The same thing happened again the next night, this time during the show. He grabbed the microphone out of the stand and walked across the stage to stand behind Ryan and rub his blue head stained green from the light. Dallon squatted until his chin was resting on Ryan’s head and brought the mic to his lips.

“All of you out there look so good right now. Isn’t this such a pretty night. Every single person in here is so pretty.” Every single person in the crowd let out a shrill shriek and swooned on the spot at Dallon’s words and even Ryan could feel his face heat up. Every person, eh? That had to include him.

Ryan realized what he was thinking and immediately cleared his mind. Just keep going, just keep playing, Seaman. He still couldn’t keep the words out of his mind for the rest of the night. It didn’t help that Ryan’s brain kept trying to convince him that, hey, Dallon looked rather pretty too.

***

He’d taken to writing it down. It had started with writing a few instances in old and recent songs- Choke, Bleed Magic, Modern Day Cain, Visitation of the Ghost, and Bike Ride all used the word pretty, and then Dallon started talking about a nice piece of fanart the crowd from the previous night had gifted them.

All it took was, “Oh, Ryan, look how pretty this is,” and Ryan found himself copying down why and when Dallon was saying that one specific word and psychoanalyzing it to the point it was likely to be unhealthy.

Still, Ryan found himself doing it more and more as Dallon would slip the word into almost every conversation and even make subtle suggestions with it. Ryan would ask what Dallon thought of his stage outfit and he would say that it was very pretty and leave it at that before getting changed himself.

This gave Ryan time to write it down but he was so distracted he didn’t even realize that, in that case, the word was directed towards him. Well, it was directed towards his outfit, but later he would decide that he firmly believed that counted. Only when Dallon started hinting towards thinking Ryan was pretty did Ryan start to integrate the word into his own vocabulary. Maybe a push was all he needed to finally admit it. Ryan could always hope.

***

And hope Ryan did. Ryan relished the late nights he spent talking with Dallon, the times they sat in his bunk together and read some article together or else scrolled through the iDKHOW Twitter or some other inane nonsense that just meant they got to spend time together. After a few days of nearly scheduling it, they knew it was just for each other and that it was there to stay. Of course, they always spent time together, but now it was more frequent and they were always pressed together and laughing their heads off even if they didn’t seem the type. It was always easy with Dallon, their friendship older than some people’s marriages lasted. They’d been comfortable with each other for so long that they couldn’t go back.

One night, they stayed up too late in Dallon’s bunk and Ryan accidentally fell asleep against Dallon’s shoulder. Dallon must’ve let him, because by the time Ryan woke up, he was under Dallon’s blankets with the singer’s arms around him. It felt weird. Not that he didn’t enjoy it, just, he’d thought Dallon was wearing a button down last night. He opened his eyes and realized that Dallon was shirtless, not just sleeveless. Snickering issued from the kitchen and Ryan slowly extracted himself from Dallon’s safe grasp. It was a more comfortable sleep than he’d had in a long time, but he’d also been sleeping on a tour bus for a while at that point.

“What are you guys laughing at,” Ryan asked, rubbing sleep out of his tired eyes. Otto, Geoff, and Jawn were all sitting around Awsten, who had his phone in front of him, holding it for all to see.

“Nothing,” Awsten said, trying to stifle his laughter. Still, the younger man emitted stray giggles, leading his friends to follow and start laughing increadingly louder.

“Shit, guys, you’ll wake Dallon with all that noise. Keep your mouths shut!” This sent each band member (and Jawn) into hysterics, Awsten dropping his phone onto the table in the chaos. Ryan seized his opportunity and snatched the phone from the table, more surprised than he thought he’d be when he saw the contents of the screen. It was a picture of him.  
Except that was only technically accurate. It was also a picture of Dallon, a picture of the two of them together in more ways than one. However, despite having traces together for the past ten years depicted in not so platonic ways, this one really took the cake. Sleep-deprived Ryan snoozing in Dallon’s warm and bare arms after a long day? The fanbase would have a field day of they were half as idiotic as the band and photographer in front of Ryan.

“Why did you take this,” Ryan asked, slightly dumbfounded.

“Because it was funny,” Awsten shouted like it was an admittance to the heavens. “Also, it was really cute. So, that combination in any order you’d like. I had to show Geoff and Otto too.” He smacked his forehead. “Oh, yeah. And Jawn. That loser.” Jawn probably would fight Awsten on that later, but Ryan didn’t care at the time.

“You’re not going to share that, right,” Ryan asked, feeling exposed and incredibly nervous. Awsten opened his mouth to say something but closed it shortly thereafter in a tight-lipped smile.

“Dallon,” he said cheerfully through gritted teeth. “Wow, look what Ryan dragged in.”

Dallon, who had obviously put on a shirt since Ryan had left him, nodded calmly and walked past them to the fridge to get a Dr. Pepper, his usual tour breakfast. Ryan grinned at him momentarily but stopped when Awsten spoke again.  
“Hey, Dallon, I need your opinion on this.” Dallon turned away from the refrigerator, having found the soda he wanted, and walked back over to them.

“What is it, Awsten,” Dallon asked, his jaw dropping when the other singer showed him. “Huh,” he said after a while.” He looked at Ryan. “You look really pretty in that.” Ryan’s brain fried and the other men sitting down with him all exchanged glances that simultaneously asked *what the fuck* and *are they plowing?* Dallon just opened his Dr. Pepper and chugged it in about five seconds flat like a true Dr. Pepper stan and walked to the bunks again. Ryan’s gaze didn’t waver from the drawn curtains until the shower turned on from the other room and it was proven that he wouldn’t have another chance to talk to him for a while.

One thought, however, never left his mind, even as he looked away.

Dallon Weekes thought he was pretty.

***

Hardly a couple of hours had passed since Dallon had called Ryan pretty and Ryan was starting to go mad. What else was he to do? His best friend had called him pretty and it was giving Ryan a major existential crisis, not only because he enjoyed it. Ryan was also pretty sure he'd kill to hear Dallon say that about him. 

Ryan probably had a thing for his bandmate, but he wasn't going to admit it. Not to himself, at least.

Dallon had went to sit in the main room after he finished his shower and, according to Otto, was watching Back to the Future on his phone. This was all well and good until he came back through the curtain and walked past Ryan and the bunks to get to the bathroom. Ryan tried to ignore him, and for the most part he did. On Dallon's way to the bathroom, Ryan only glanced at him once.

On Dallon's way back, however, it was impossible to ignore him. Dallon sat down next to Ryan and took the younger man's phone from him, setting it down on his other side and putting a hand on Ryan's shoulder.

"What's up, dude," Ryan asked, staring Dallon down and refusing to show any sign of nervousness.

Dallon then ruined that defense in mere seconds.

"You've been ignoring me, Ryan," Dallon said faux- accusatorily. Ryan blinked slowly, looked down, and looked back up again.

"Can't I get a break from your antics for a moment," Ryan joked, an awkward grin gracing his face. Dallon shook his head.

"No, because I believe it's been hours. You're usually either with me or Geoff, but Geoff is hanging with Otto. I had been chatting with Awsten for a bit, but then I realized you were all alone and you have been since this morning. What's wrong, pretty boy?"

Okay, so, basically, Ryan shattered as soon as those final two words left Dallon's mouth. He couldn't stop the small smile that appeared and accentuated his dimple, a rosy tint coming to his cheeks and forcing him to drop his head down.

"Fuck, is that really what this is all about, Ryan? Are you embarrassed that I called you pretty earlier," he asked, pushing Ryan's head up with a well placed thumb under his chin. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," Dallon told him. Ryan shook his head, frowning when the movement caused Dallon to take his hand away. "Did I not make you uncomfortable?"

"You did not," Ryan confirmed. "It was never that you made me uncomfortable, okay. I don't know how to explain it." Dallon scrunched his eyes shut.

"Then come on, what was it," Dallon asked, exasperated.

Ryan was backed up into a corner. There is no way he protect himself now, not without lying through his teeth. Besides, he didn't have any ideas on what to say. He'd always been shit at lying and, whenever he tried, Dallon would always see right through his tales anyway. No, Ryan couldn't lie about this, but Dallon wouldn't hate him, right?

"Look. Just, don't be weird about it, okay." Ryan paused and took a deep breath. "I have a thing for you, okay? And I haven't really been able to face you since this morning because you called me pretty, and I would never describe myself as pretty, but when you did I melted."

He refused to look at Dallon, finding his shoes particularly attractive at the moment. He expected Dallon to be angry, but the next breath Dallon took turned into a sigh, not a huff. 

Ryan nearly looked up, ready to face Dallon, but something stopped him. All of a sudden, his vision went blurry. Ryan closed his eyes. He didn't need them to be sure of what was happening.

Lips were moving on the back of his neck. He could feel kisses being tailed upwards to his jaw, his cheek, and finally the corner of his mouth. Ryan finally brought his head up and opened his eyes.

Dallon's nose was about a millimeter from Ryan's, their faces so close Ryan could feel Dallon's breath on him. Then Dallon moved and they were impossibly closer. His lips were like a paintbrush on a canvas, making art more beautiful with every movement. Ryan felt like jelly, trembling despite how much enjoyment he was deriving from kissing Dallon. 

Dallon ran his hand through Ryan's hair, making Ryan sigh and squeak mere seconds later. Dallon had opened his mouth to match Ryan, slipping his tongue into Ryan's and running it over the roof of his mouth. Somehow, miraculously, it grounded Ryan and, rather than shaking, he moaned, putting his arms on Dallon's shoulders and twining his fingers together. Dallon seemed to like that, putting his hands on Ryan's shoulders and pushing him down, accidentally hitting the wall hard with his elbow. Dallon grunted in pain, but the older man's noises soon turned to pleasure when Ryan bit at his lip.

Voices carried in from the living area but Ryan didn't care. Dallon was on top of him and this was pure bliss and it didn't matter that their busmates' voices were becoming less distant. Ryan closed his eyes and wrapped one leg around Dallon's back, trying to get closer, were that even possible.

Suddenly, the curtain flew open and Ryan opened his eyes to find Jawn standing in the doorway, his eyes wide and camera recording.

"These are our bunks and, if I'm not mistaken," Awsten said, as if he were a reality TV host. "If I'm not mistaken... Dallon and Ryan..." Awsten finally got close enough to look into the bunk room and whooped rather than finishing his sentence. "Fuck yes!"

Dallon rolled off of Ryan and Ryan's leg hit the bed without warning. The singer sat up and brought his knees to his chest. Ryan only then realized that Dallon had been half aroused while making out with him, but that wasn't important now.

"I guess there's no chance of saying that this isn't what it looks like," Dallon tried weakly.

Jawn hit a button and with a click the camera had stopped recording. A few stray noises emitted from the machine before he turned it so the screen faced the two men who had just been caught red, or bed, handed.

The picture was unmistakably the two of them.

"Do you have anything to say for yourselves," Jawn threatened, trying to sound like an overprotective mother.

Dallon smiled and took Ryan's hand.

"Yeah, can I get a print of that? Ryan looks really pretty."


End file.
